Cleveland Guardians survived and advanced, beating the Chicago White Sox 9-5 in Game 4 on Thursday night to force a winner-take-all Game 5 on Saturday in Cleveland. The Guardians arrived in Chicago down 2-0 in this American League Division Series.
Jose Ramirez and Patrick Bailey homered in the fifth inning to spark Cleveland's first comeback. After the White Sox retook the lead, the Guardians sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six runs in the sixth against Chicago's heavily used bullpen. The White Sox never recovered. "They're making really good swing decisions," Chicago manager Will Venable said. "When you walk guys, they make you pay."
Both games in Chicago featured a raucous, jam-packed crowd at Rate Field, hoping to see the White Sox clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since Oct. 14, 1906. For now, the wait continues. Over the two games, Guardians pitchers recorded 31 strikeouts to the White Sox's nine, while Cleveland's hitters drew 17 walks, six more than Chicago.
Both managers burned through 15 pitchers over nine innings in Game 4. Cleveland got 2⅓ innings from rookie Parker Messick before six relievers followed. Guardians manager Steven Vogt then turned to probable Game 5 starter Gavin Williams to get the last three outs. "The script tonight got ripped up in the third," Vogt said. "When you have to go to the bullpen early, you've got to get creative in a win-or-go-home game."
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing